


If You Fall, I Fall With You

by Jesse



Category: Warframe
Genre: Blood, Child Death, Consensual S/M, Dahr pretty much loses his shit, Implied/Referenced Torture, It does not go over well at all, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-17
Updated: 2016-04-17
Packaged: 2018-06-02 21:19:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6582808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jesse/pseuds/Jesse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Azhir finds out the real reason that Dahrius has been so demanding of their sessions. It's not a good one.</p><p> <i>Note: This is drabble between my Tenno oc and an NPC from Warframe that I've given fanmade lore to. </i></p><p> <b>This fic has <span class="u">nothing</span> to do with the actual lore of Warframe or the game itself.</b></p>
            </blockquote>





	If You Fall, I Fall With You

The way Dahrius' Hexis uniform fell to the floor in a rumpled puddle was one of Azhir's favourite things to look at. The Tenno stripped his clothing with practiced speed, eager to push himself into the Visaala's space. Azhir adored the familiar shiver that ran through Dahr's body as he wrapped his arms around the Tenno, his cold skin still something that his subordinate was not yet used to. Smiling faintly, he placed a gentle kiss on his lover's forehead, which brought an unexpected, and rather upset-sounding groan from Dahrius.

Now frowning, Azhir moved his hands to gently grasp Dahr's shoulders, watching with a curious eye at the Tenno's obvious signs of discontentment.

"Is something wrong?" Azhir asked, knowing that it wasn't like Dahrius to behave this way. "Do you want to stop?"

"No, just.." The Tenno bit his lip for a moment, before reaching out and placing his warm hands on Azhir's sides. "Can we skip all of this and just get straight to fucking already?"

The Visaala raised an eyebrow, glancing down at the Tenno in front of him. Dahrius had been quite eager recently for their sessions, now demanding the pain and near-torture that Azhir had once been reluctant to try. His subordinate's body had bruises and light scarring in various places from their play, and while Azhir had been happy to indulge at first, it was growing concerning.

"Dahrius.. you need to take it easy," he said slowly, gently brushing the Tenno's cheek with the back of a finger, "We had a session only just last night, and you were screaming louder than you have before; not to mention that I haven't cleaned up that much blood from you prior. I'm almost hesitant to have a repeat, especially after you taking no time to heal. You should let me help-"

"No, no." Dahrius punctuated firmly, shaking his head for emphasis. "I'm a Vazarin master; I can take it. I wouldn't want it if I couldn't."

Azhir slowly but firmly pried the Tenno's hands from his waist, holding them in his own. "I do not doubt your limits, but I'm using my discretion on the matter, and my answer is no. Not tonight."

The way that Dahrius yanked his hands free of Azhir's gentle grasp was a bit hurtful, but the Visaala didn't let that show. He watched with a careful eye as Dahrius walked back over to his clothing, beginning to put his undergarments back on.

"I never said that we couldn't have fun tonight," Azhir commented, watching him, "I just think that we should leave the pain for another time."

"Well, I don't want that fluffy stuff," Dahrius retorted, shoving his slender legs into his uniform, "and since you don't want to give me what I want, there's no point in staying here."

Dahr's words hurt more than he would realise. Azhir has always been very careful to set limits for the two, since Dahrius, not being of Visaalan race, was considerably more fragile and had less stamina and pain tolerance. But to hear him say something like that, after everything that Azhir had ever carefully indulged him in, was painful to process.

"Dahrius," he said slowly, watching his lover push his arms through the tight sleeves, "Something is not right. I haven't seen you behave this way before."

"Oh wow, it's almost like I'm a person who has emotions and feelings, unlike yourself," Dahrius snapped, adjusting the skin-tight cuffs around his wrists, "No thanks to you, anyway. I was better off being who I was before I met you."

Azhir nearly recoiled at hearing such words, the others now out the window. He could feel his chest tightening with anxious grief, but he decided to ignore it for now. It wasn't the time.

"I.. see," he said at length, taking small comfort in the fact that, even though dressed, Dahrius didn't seem intent on leaving. "Would you like me to leave, then?"

The Tenno shook his head, frustrated. "No, I just want you to fuck me into the wall and leave me crying. How hard is that, Azhir?"

"It's hard to do that when I know that something is wrong. You are wanting to use our sessions to ignore whatever it is that you are feeling."

The way that Dahr's eyes glimmered for a second told Azhir that he was correct. He actually gave pause to his erratic motions, until his fingers clenched into tight fists. "So what? You told me that it was good to deal with these stupid emotions, and now that I'm trying, you just tell me to fuck off!!"

The Visaala shook his head slightly. "In no way did I mean that you should rely on pain as a means to set aside your feelings, to ignore them in lieu of something that takes up every bit of focus you have. If you-"

"Shut up!!" Dahrius shouted, storming his way over to Azhir. Angrily, he pushed the Visaala backwards until he was pressed against the wall. Azhir let him, offering no resistance whatsoever. The Tenno's fingernails dug painfully into Azhir's bared hips as he slammed him against the wall for the second time.

"Do you intend to put me in your place, then?" Azhir asked, "Will making me the one to feel pain help you?"

He could feel his own blood oozing out of his sides as Dahrius slowly withdrew his hands, staring at them in utter shock. As if he hadn't even been aware of his own actions. The rich blue blood staining Dahrius' fingertips seemed to jar the Tenno, and he sank to his knees, right there and then.

Azhir immediately dropped to the floor, not hesitating to wrap his arms around his lover. Dahr was silent, but the way his body shook told Azhir that he was forcing himself to not cry. He whispered Dahrius' name a few times, comfortingly, before drawing the Tenno against his chest, holding him tightly. The tears he saw run slowly down Dahr's cheeks were stemming from emotions, as opposed to pain, and this was a first for the Tenno.

Carefully sliding backwards on the floor, Azhir rested his back against the wall, reaffirming his hold on Dahrius. The Tenno, however, was as limp as a wet leaf, continuing to tremble as he stared at his bloodstained fingertips curled loosely in his lap. Azhir slowly covered both of Dahr's hands with one of his large ones, not feeling any reciprocation but not paying it any mind. His other hand, wrapped around Dahrius' upper body, gently slid upward a little to smooth the Tenno's hair, and that was the pebble that shattered the window.

The scream that came from Dahrius' throat was horrendous to listen to. It was made of nothing but raw, emotional pain, and it started an onslaught of sobbing. Azhir was quick to tighten his hold onto his lover, whispering quick, comforting words in his native tongue, his fingers curling gently around Dahr's. However, the way that Dahrius' body continued to shake, the raw-throated groaning, and way that his eyes were fixed to the ceiling was more than concerning. He was most likely suffering from an emotional or traumatic attack inside his mind, a place that Azhir could go if he needed. And while he always asked for Dahrius' consent before such things, he knew that he wouldn't get it, not with the Tenno's body locking up like it was.

Hurriedly, Azhir sunk his teeth into his right thumb, feeling his blood splash thinly against his gums as he did so. As Dahrius was not Visaalan, a catalyst had to be used between the two, and Azhir's blood provided the perfect connection between their minds. He pressed his thumb against Dahrius' forehead, watching his blue blood trickle down his lover's skin before he initiated the bridge.

The Tenno's mind was a whirlwind of turmoil. Azhir could barely understand what was going on. Memories of flames threatened to burn his skin, and watching military forces repeatedly shove Dahrius' head into water almost made him feel like he himself was drowning. Feeling a gloved thumb in Dahrius' mouth made Azhir spit at the taste of Kevlar on his tongue. The memory of a Tenno child setting fire to other children with her uncontrolled powers made Azhir's skin feel aflame, and a stray image of a younger Dahrius pointing a pistol at a child's forehead nearly made the Visaala sink to his knees as Dahrius pulled the trigger. Memories like this he had seen glimpses of before, but being in the Tenno's mind caused Azhir to experience the same emotions connected to each memory, albeit with weakened force.

"Dahrius!!" He called out, hearing his own voice crack with emotional pain as he began pushing his way through the sea of days past, looking for his lover like his life depended on it. Memories of birthday candles, a split lip, and an Orokin woman were pushed underneath Azhir's fingers as he moved onwards, not caring about the memories as much as he did about Dahrius himself.

There!! He spotted the Tenno lying on the ground, which was little more than tangible grey voidspace. He gathered Dahrius into his arms, cradling his limp body against his chest as tightly as he could manage. His paramour was awake, eyes wide with tears streaking his umber cheeks. Even without looking at Azhir, he seemed to know what had happened. "Azhir.. help me."

His words broke the Visaala's heart, knowing that what he could do was very limited. It was Dahrius' mindspace, not his own; he had little power here.

"I can't-"

"Please.."

Just looking at Dahr's state and the turmoil of memories that only continued to get worse, Azhir knew from the pit of his stomach that the Tenno was even more helpless than he was. He pressed a fierce kiss to Dahrius' forehead, uttering a quick prayer against his lover's hot skin.

The hardest thing to do at that moment was to release the Tenno, setting him back to rest against the ground. He slowly rose to his feet, using himself as a blockade between Dahrius and his memories. Arms at his sides, Azhir slowly outstretched them, raising them to chest level. Palms upward, he slowly clenched his hands into fists, envisioning himself taking hold of the memories that now pained them both. The erratic whirlwind seemed to stutter, but still maintained its power. Azhir knew that, not being Dahrius, this had a large chance to fail, and if he did, he risked mental injury to his love. He couldn't fail; he couldn't.

Groaning in mental pain, the Visaala began channeling what power he had through his fingertips, wrapping invisible tendrils of energy around the relentless storm. The horde of memories thrashed violently, threatening to break the fragile hold that Azhir held them in. He clenched his fists once more, slowly bringing both of his hands together, arms shaking from the stress of his burden. His grip was weakening, and if he let go now, Dahrius' mind could collapse, permanently, possibly killing them both.

Unleashing a guttural yell, Azhir snapped his arms back out to his sides, fingers splaying open the moment he did so. The memory entity rippled for a moment before it began depressing in its center, shaking for a moment before exploding. Memories scattered all over the place, floating madly until they found a neat pocket of mindspace to tuck themselves into.

And all was quiet.

Exhausted, Azhir severed the bridge between them, lest he collapse. His physical body was limp; arms laying uselessly at his sides, unable to hold onto his paramour. Inside his mind, everything ached, as he wasn't used to literally taking control of someone else's. If the Visaalan High Council ever found out about this, he would probably have his parliament seat revoked. Such an act would also probably constitute his own execution, if he were a lesser citizen. He tried not to think about it.

Glancing down at Dahrius, he was relieved to see his lover's chest rising and falling steadily, his breathing now what it should be. The Tenno's umber cheeks were streaked with tears, but he no longer cried. Rather, he seemed to be asleep. Azhir decided to follow suit, closing his eyes and letting the dark arms of sleep envelop him.

+++

"Are you sure?"

"Azhir, I'm fine. You don't have to coddle me."

"No, but I'd like to."

Grinning a little, Azhir handed the cup of tea to Dahrius, who smiled faintly in return. The Visaala sipped his own cup, resisting the urge to down the entire thing. This was a terribly expensive blend; it had to be savoured.

He climbed back into bed next to Dahrius, who leaned comfortably against his shoulder. Azhir swept his arm around the Tenno, who then resorted to resting against his chest. Dahr held the teacup loosely in his hands, staring at his fingertips, which had been cleaned of Azhir's blood.

".. I'm sorry for the things I said," he said at length, not daring to look Azhir in the eye, "You aren't responsible for any of my problems. I was just.. angry, I guess."

Azhir nodded slightly, his thumb idly rubbing the rim of the teacup while he thought out a response. "You are forgiven. I am just sorry that I didn't notice it sooner. Perhaps I was too caught up in what I wanted to be able to see the truth." He looked down at Dahr, who was staring thoughtfully at his teacup. "I can promise you this, Dahrius," he said quietly, "I will never let you endure something like that alone, ever again. You have my word."

The smile on Dahrius' lips was all he needed as a response from the silent Tenno. He knew that it would take several years for Dahr to work through the emotional trauma he had within himself, but as long as the Tenno would allow him to stay close, he wouldn't have to worry so much. That's what he was there for. Well, that and a few kisses, too.


End file.
